Over the course of the next few days, very important
initiatives will unfold ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC
for our sister-in-Islam, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. We have
the petition drive already underway; followed by the
delegation of activists (and concerned citizens')
visit to the Pakistani Mission in New York City on
Saturday, August 14, at 12 noon; and then there is a
thought-provoking rally and tawareeh program in London
scheduled for Sunday, August 15, insha'Allah.

A release went out on the U.S. part of the
transatlantic initiative earlier today. For the London
initiative, we invite you to read the highly
informative, and passionately written, commentary
below...straight out of London!

In the struggle,

Ramadan

Ramadan is almost upon us. Our beloved has
returned, this most blessed month - typically a time
of fasting, family gatherings, eating rich foods and
meeting our loved ones. And without question this is
from the blessings of Ramadan. During this month, we
will all enjoy some great times, great food and great
company.

Or will we?

The
reality is that this is not the case for many of the
Muslims around the world, and without doubt this is
not the case for our sister, Aafia Siddiqui, may Allah
have mercy on her.

Aafia is in solitary
confinement, cut off from her family, her lawyers,
denied all communication rights and systematically
mentally assaulted. This Ramadhan, she will have no
congregational prayer, no one to share iftaar with and
the genuine fear of being strip searched or assaulted,
day in, night out - just as she has for the best part
of this decade.

This is Ramadhan for Aafia.
This is Ramadhan for your sister.

Now, why do we remind you
of this? You may ask, what can I do? I am here, you
may feel, with no ability to influence her case, no
army at my disposal, and no powers to even articulate
my disgust at this situation. Well, I guess this is
exactly why we stand here to remind you of your
sister, as you have something far more powerful than
all the aforementioned. You have the one thing that
can save her. You possess the one weapon her enemies
don’t. You have the one thing that if used correctly
has throughout the history of the Muslims brought
victory to the believers. You ask what is that one
thing?

Let’s take you back a few
years. Let us take you back to Badr. Let us take you
back to the night before the battle was to be fought.
The 313 believers gathered to meet in battle the
finest of Arabian warriors and knights, who out
numbered them close to four to one. The night before
the battle commenced, their leader, our Prophet, stood
in solitude and unleashed his most amazing and
powerful weapon before the battle even begun.
Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, the reviver of
Tawhid, the leader of the faithful, stood firm and
tall, with his men behind him and his enemies fast
approaching, Muhammad, the son of Abdullah, raised his
hands to the heavens to invoke his Lord, Allah
Subhanahu wa ta’ala, and made a genuine du’a to the
All Magnificent. He knew with some confidence that
this is beloved to his Lord. As Allah Himself says,

I answer the prayer of the supplicant when He calls on
Me.
(2:186)

He, the finest of creation,
raised his hands to the sky and invoked his Creator,
beseeching him to grant the believers victory. This
Prophet of Allah, contrary to military precedent, did
not spent the night going over his plans or getting in
the final bit of rest before the greatest battle of
his time, rather he went to war that very night, by
preparing his arms, and by invoking his Lord, the one
in whose hands is both victory and loss.

The Messenger of Allah,
spent that night in du’a, through his firm
understanding that only Allah is the one who can
decide the fate of any affair, therefore one’s focus
has to be on asking Allah for what it is we sincerely
want. As, if we do that, without any doubt whatsoever,
we will find that what it is we pray for, if good for
us, will come to pass, as this is the promise of
Allah, Jalla wa’al.

And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your
(Prayer): but those who are too arrogant to serve Me
will surely find themselves in Hell - in humiliation!"
Noble Qur'an
(40:60)

Therefore it should be
apparent that the power of du’a is tremendous, and is
prescribed by the Lord, All Mighty himself. This is
why when we when tread through the pages of history,
when we take the companions as our guides, and when we
take the example of the righteous, we find that all
turned only to their Creator to win their victories.
All turned only to their Lord, to invoke him, and
trade their sincerity to this religion for success
where they sought it.

So here we are, and it just
seems that how can we let this most beloved time,
Ramadan, the jewel of the Islamic calendar go, without
ensuring that every single one of us unsheathes our
weapons? Those of us that say we care for Aafia, (and
all those like her) that we wish to honor the ties of
brotherhood to her and we wish to not let her blood,
sweat, honor continue to be sacrificed, we arise this
month, and just like Musa beseeched his Lord, with the
sea in front of him and the most powerful army in the
world behind him, we ask Allah to emancipate our
sister Aafia from the trial she currently faces. We
must make a commitment to raise our hands to the
heavens, and beseech Allah, the All Mighty, the All
Powerful, the All Merciful to have mercy on our
dearest sister.

This month is a time when
most of us will increase in our reading the book of
Allah, praying Salah in the masjid, and rising for
Qiyam, and as these are all endeavors during/ after
which the acceptability of du’a is enhanced, it is of
paramount importance that we remember Ukhti Aafia in
our dua when engaging these religious practices.

As our sister’s case is
again delayed,; with the date for her next hearing
moving forward, again and she is further abused, we
stand here and appeal not to her captors, not to the
oppressors, not to those who sold her, and not to
those who fail to speak for her, but rather we stand
here, appealing to their Lord, her Lord and our Lord.
We ask him, with his most beautiful names, to have
Mercy on our sister, to free her from her oppressors,
to give her justice, to reward her faith and to have
justice with those who have sought to destroy her.

We shall seek to do this
every blessed night of this month, and request your
company on just one of the 30 nights of this month. On
15th August 2010, we have organised a rally for our
sister outside the US embassy, London, to remind
ourselves of her plight, to raise our voice in protest
and our hands to the sky - and we invite you to join
us as we remember our sister, raising our hands, and
with our fasting mouths invoke the Lord of the Worlds,
to have mercy on her and release her from the fetters
of captivity.

Whilst this is the month of
the Qur’an, of qiyaam and siyaam, it is equally part
of our history and our tradition, that it was the
month of enjoining the good and forbidding the munkar;
the month in which the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi
was-salam), his beloved companions and the subsequent
generations stood up, in defence of the believers and
the oppressed. Ramadhan is rather a time of increased
activity where we, lightened by the burdens of
constant eating and drinking, are rejuvenated to
strive and struggle for Allah. From the destruction of
Masjid ad-Dirar, the mosque of the hypocrities of
Madinah, in the first year hijrah (1 AH), to Badr (3
AH), Wadi Al Qura (6AH), the Conquest of Makkah (8AH),
and detachments dispatched to cleanse the Arabian
peninsula of the major centres of polytheism therein -
such was the month of Ramadhan in the time of the
Prophet. Ramadhan was the month in which, 92 years
after the Hijrah, Tariq ibn Ziyad was confronted with
an army of 90,000 strong yet succeeded in liberating
the whole of Spain, Sicily and parts of France,
marking the start of the Golden Age of Andalus. It was
again in this blessed month that Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi
finally drove the Crusaders out of Syria and that the
Muslims headed by Saifuddin Qutz administered a
crushing blow to the Mongols at Ain Jalut in 458 AH).
This was the spirit of Ramadhan that enabled our
forefathers to spend the day in the saddle and the
night in prayer.

Today, this ummah is in
need of believers who will walk in the footsteps of
our illustrious predecessors, who do not fear the
blame or threats of the oppressors; who will not
forget the cries of our sister oppressed in this month
but rather stand in solidarity and support with her on
a day and night when the reward for our deeds are
multiplied.

We look not at the judge
who presides over her case; rather we look to the
Judge of Judges who determines all affairs in this
world and the next, and on that day ask you to come
and break fast with us, and invoke our Lord to have
mercy on our sister; so that perhaps we may have some
excuse on our own Day of Judgement to lift the burden
and sin from our neck for failing our sister; so that
we will not be forsaken at a time when we will love to
have His Help -

“No man forsakes a Muslim when his rights are being
violated or his honour is being belittled except that
Allah will forsake him at a place in which he would
love to have His help. And no man helps a Muslim at a
time when his honour is being belittled or his rights
violated except that Allah will help him at a place in
which he loves to have His help”.

Join us. After all, how can you refuse the angels
making du’a for you for joining the effort?

The Prophet, upon whom be
peace, said:
"The du’a of a Muslim for his brother (in Islam) in
his absence is readily accepted. An angel is appointed
to his side. Whenever he makes a beneficial dua for
his brother the appointed angel says, 'Aameen. And may
you also be blessed with the same.”[Sahih
Muslim]